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The Abominable Dr. Phibes
May 18, 1971 | runtime = 94 minutes | country = UK | language = English | budget = | followed_by = Dr. Phibes Rises Again |}} The Abominable Dr. Phibes is a 1971 horror film starring Vincent Price. Its art deco sets, dark humor and "over the top" performance by Price has made the film and its sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again "camp" classics. ---- Plot Anton Phibes, a famous organist with doctorates in Music and Theology was thought to have been killed in a car crash in 1921 while rushing to the side of his sick wife, Victoria. He in fact survived the crash but was horribly disfigured. He fashions himself a wig and lifelike mask to hide his injuries, and using his musical expertise creates a system whereby he can speak through a hose connecting his windpipe to a gramophone. When Phibes discovers that his wife had died on the operating table he is convinced that she was a victim of incompetent doctors, and spends several years planning a vendetta against those who operated on her, and begins killing them in 1925. Inspector Trout suspects Phibes, but finds little support from Scotland Yard. Trout is also hindered by the incompetence of his police force. Eventually Dr. Vesalius, head of the team of doctors that operated on Phibes's wife, begins to believe inspector Trout is right and aids him in the hunt for Phibes. Using various highly imaginative methods, Dr. Phibes kills seven doctors and a nurse with the help of his beautiful and silent female assistant Vulnavia (played by actress Virginia North). He has reserved the final punishment for Dr. Vesalius. He kidnaps the doctor's son and places him on a table on which a container full of acid is waiting to destroy the boy's face. A small key implanted near the boy's heart will free him, but Vesalius must perform the surgery within six minutes to get the key before the acid falls. The operation succeeds and the acid instead strikes Vulnavia. Convinced he has accomplished his vendetta, Phibes retreats to a stone sarcophagus beside the embalmed body of his wife. As he drains out his own blood and replaces it with embalming fluid the coffin's inlaid stone lid slides into place, concealing them both in darkness. Trout and the police arrive and discover that Phibes has mysteriously disappeared. Trout and Vesalius recall that the "final curse" was darkness and they speculate that they will encounter Phibes again. ---- The Ten Plagues of Egypt Dr. Phibes takes his inspiration for the murders from the Old Testament, the Ten plagues of Egypt: #'Boils:' Prof. Thornton is stung to death by bees (not shown, only referred to during the film) #'Bats:' Dr. Dunwoody is mauled to death by bats #'Frogs:' Dr. Hargreaves's (who is not really a surgeon; just a psychiatrist) throat is crushed by a mechanical mask of a frog #'Blood:' Dr. Longstreet has all the blood drained out of his body #'Hail:' Dr. Hedgepath is frozen to death by a machine spewing ice #'Rats:' Dr. Kitaj crashes his plane when attacked by rats #'Beasts:' Dr. Whitcombe is impaled by a brass unicorn head #'Locusts:' Nurse Allen is eaten by locusts #'Death of the first born:' Phibes kidnaps and attempts to kill Dr. Vesalius's son Lem #'Darkness:' At the ambiguous ending of the film, Phibes drains the blood from his own body while injecting embalming fluid, apparently joining his wife in death. ---- Production notes * Robert Fuest rewrote most of the original screenplay. One of the few scenes to remain as scripted was one in which Trout consults a rabbi and first learns of the curses. Some original plot lines and sequences that were altered or eliminated: ** Phibes was to be much more violent in the original script, abusing Vulnavia, smashing furniture, etc. The filmmakers ultimately decided to make the character more sympathetic. ** The victim of the plague of rats was to be attacked on a boat rather than in a plane. It was changed as most people's reaction was, "Why couldn't he just jump off the boat?" ** Vulnavia was going to be revealed as another one of Phibes' clockwork devices (he has a clockwork band called "Dr. Phibes' Clockwork Wizards.") ** Phibes was originally to kill Vulnavia and then escape his house (which was to catch fire) in a hot air balloon with Victoria's body. * In order for Joseph Cotten to know his cues, Phibes' dialogue was read aloud by a crew-member. * Cotten would grumble on the set that he had to remember and deliver lines, while Price's were all to be post-dubbed. Price responded, "Yes, but I still know them, Joe." (In fact, Price was well-known in Hollywood for his ability to memorize all of the characters' lines in a given production, not just his own.) * Price commented that Cotten was uncomfortable doing these scenes, so he intentionally pulled a lot of faces to make him laugh. * Vincent Price went through hours of make up, which often had to be reapplied as he kept laughing. * The name "Vesalius" is a reference to Andreas Vesalius, a Flemish scientist who cut up corpses to learn about the workings of the body. * The film was followed by a sequel, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, in 1972. Several other possible sequels were planned, including Dr. Phibes in the Holy Land, The Brides of Phibes, Phibes Resurrectus and The Seven Fates of Dr. Phibes, but none were made. * Dr. Phibes' wife, played by '70's model, Caroline Munro (who later appeared in such Hammer Horror fare as Dracula A.D. 1972 and Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter), was excluded from the film's credits. ---- Cast * Vincent Price as Dr. Anton Phibes * Joseph Cotten as Dr. Vesalius * Peter Jeffrey as Inspector Harry Trout * Virginia North as Vulnavia * Terry-Thomas as Dr. Longstreet * Sean Bury as Lem Vesalius * Susan Travers as Nurse Allen * David Hutcheson as Dr. Hedgepath * Edward Burnham as Dr. Dunwoody * Alex Scott as Dr. Hargreaves * Peter Gilmore as Dr. Kitaj * Maurice Kaufmann as Dr. Whitcombe * Derek Godfrey as Crow * Norman Jones as Sgt. Tom Schenley * John Cater as Waverley * Hugh Griffith as Rabbi * Caroline Munro as Phibe's wife (uncredited) ---- Critical reception Critic Christopher Null wrote of the film, "One of the '70s juiciest entries into the horror genre, The Abominable Dr. Phibes is Vincent Price at his campy best, a former doctor and concert organist (go figure that one out yourself) who is exacting revenge on the nine doctors he blames for botching his wife's surgery, which ended with her death. Through a series of tortuous means that would make a Bond villain green with envy, the hideous Phibes is matched by Joseph Cotten as the doc at the end of the road. A crazy script and an awesome score make this a true classic."Null, Christopher. FilmCritic.com, film review, 2002. Last accessed: January 8, 2008. ---- Music * The film opens with War March of the Priests (Mendelssohn) flamboyantly played by Dr. Phibes on a grand organ. * The succession of murders is accompanied by period music including "Charmaine", "Darktown Strutters Ball" (sung by Paul Frees), "You Stepped out of a Dream", "Close Your Eyes" and "Elmer's Tune". * End Title "Over the Rainbow" Instrumental. * The film also features a version of the Johnny Mercer hit "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)" (sung by Scott Peters) * The horror-punk band "The Misfits" has a song by the name of 'The Abominable Dr. Phibes'. It is a shortened version of the "Kryst the Conqueror" song 'Dr. Phibes Rises Again'. 'Kryst' was a post original Misfits band featuring brothers Jerry (long time founding member bassist of the Misfits) and Doyle (guitarist). The extended song was rerecorded by the Misfits with Michale Graves singing, on the album "Cuts from the Crypt". * Punk and Goth pioneers, The Damned pay tribute to Dr Phibes on the track "13th Floor vendetta" from the 1980 "Black Album", The song opens with the lines " the organ plays to midnight on maldine Square tonight" * German deathrock band Madre del Vizio has songs named "Dr. Phibes" and "Il Retorno del Dr. Phibes". * German ska band The Busters released a song named "Dr. Phibes" on their 2004 album "Revolution Rock". It is an instrumental with the organ as the main instrument, including a long organ solo. * British heavy metal band Angel Witch released a song entitled "Dr. Phibes". * American death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder have released a zip-up hoody featuring artwork inspired by the movie. The piece of merchandise is entitled simply 'Phibes.' * Italian Electronica band Overmamba released a song entitled "20th Century Monster", on their debut album Crawl Out, whose lyrics are largely inspired by the Phibes movies. The song also features an organ accompaniment similar to Phibes's. * British Heavy Metal band Angel Witch included an instrumental titled "Dr. Phibes" on their "Loser" EP and the 1990 re-issue of their self-titled album. * "Over the Rainbow" Title Closes the second film Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972) AIP/Orion/MGM with Vincent Price singing one verse. ---- Speculation Having just Doctor Phibes I came the coclusion,that this is where Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams partially got the concept of Ra's al Ghul from.The other being Doctor Fu Manchu.Both were created in 1971.Both use resuurection,as Fu Manchu as a means to cheat death.Both hang around a young woman devoted to their concerns-of course so does Fu Manchu,have a devote daughter like Talia-where as Vulnavia isn't Doctor Phibes daughter,as far as we know,she acts in that role or maybe a substitute for his dead wife Victoria.And might I add all three have advisaries that are detective-of course Dr.Phibes is smarter than the ones he goes up against-put get my point.Creative ideas don't come out of hyperspace,but the real world.Creators see this or that-make connections between other characters and create new characters.It's not too far to see Denny O'Neil seeing The Abominable Dr. Phibes and making the connection,that he is similar to Doctor Fu M anchu.Combine the two-throw some stuff about and you Ra's al Ghul. Due to his expanded life span, Ra’s has accumulated a vast knowledge of hand-to-hand combat, chemistry, detective artistry, physics, and martial arts (all of which rival that of Batman). He has also gained many international contacts and a vast fortune, gained over centuries. When in combat, he favors more ancient weaponry (as he has had more time to utilize them more than modern weaponry). These weapons include katana swords, bolas, throwing stars, smoke pellets, and miniaturized explosives. Ra's is also assisted by his devoted, musclebound servant Ubu. Ra’s greatest weapons however are his Lazarus Pits, which will heal him of any injury (even if he is recently dead) while de-aging him back to his prime of life. His constant exposure to the pits has also granted him slightly enhanced endurance and healing.Ra's al Ghul. ---- See also * Dr. Phibes Rises Again * Theatre of Blood References External links * . * * [http://www.hollywoodgothique.com/abominabledrphibes1971.html The Abominable Dr. Phibes] at Hollywood Gothique. de:Das Schreckenskabinett des Dr. Phibes el:Ο Σατανικός Δόκτωρ Φάιμπς fr:L'Abominable Docteur Phibes it:L'abominevole dottor Phibes pt:The Abominable Dr. Phibes ru:Ужасный доктор Файбс Category:1971 films Category:American International Pictures films Category:B movies Category:British horror films Category:English-language films Category:Films directed by Robert Fuest Category:Comedy horror films